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French NATO jets shoot down drone over Latvia in country’s first intercept
French fighter jets operating under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a drone over eastern Latvia on 8 June, the country's National Armed Forces (NBS) confirmed. The drone was intercepted over Nautrēni parish between Rēzekne and Kārsava, near Latvia's border with Russia.
It was the first time NATO jets had downed a drone over Latvian territory.
The intercept is the second in Baltic airspace since 19 May, when a Romanian F-16 shot down a stray Ukrainian strike drone over Estonia's Lake Võrtsjärv. Latvia's drone crisis has been the most politically destabilizing in the region.
A 7 May crash near the Rēzekne oil storage facility toppled the ruling coalition after Prime Minister Evika Siliņa forced Defense Minister Andris Sprūds' resignation.
Latvia described the drone as deflected by Russian electronic warfare
The NBS described the aircraft as "a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that had flown into Latvia as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare," Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported. A military spokesperson told Reuters the drone entered Latvian airspace from Russia.
Baltic defense ministries have previously identified drones entering their airspace as Ukrainian, knocked off course by Russian electronic jamming while targeting sites inside Russia. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has argued Moscow deliberately steers those drones into NATO territory to erode Western support for Kyiv.
Several allied foreign ministers echoed that claim at a 22 May meeting in Helsingborg.
The NBS issued cell-broadcast alerts to residents in the Rēzekne, Ludza, Balvi, and Alūksne municipalities at around 09:20 local time. The threat level in Rēzekne and Ludza was raised to orange at 09:40.
The alert was lifted by approximately 10:30 after the drone was confirmed destroyed.
Drone also violated Moldova's airspace overnight
Separately, an unidentified drone violated Moldovan airspace overnight and exploded on impact, Yevropeiska Pravda reported. Authorities are examining the fragments.
The incident came a day after Moldovan President Maia Sandu instructed the government to draft legislation enabling domestic production of interceptor drones, citing repeated airspace violations linked to Russia's war on Ukraine.
Last week, 56 countries and the EU condemned a Russian drone violation of Romanian airspace at a UN Security Council emergency session requested by Bucharest.
Escalating incursions are reshaping Baltic security
The shootdown caps a month that has transformed how the Baltic states approach drone defense. Estonia activated its first border drone-detection sensors on 30 May.
Ukraine and Estonia expanded drone cooperation on 3 June. Latvia's armed forces commander General Kaspars Pudāns warned last week that Russia could exploit its drone advantage to attack the Baltics by the end of 2028.
European leaders have agreed to develop a "drone wall" along their eastern borders, and a US anti-drone system has been deployed to NATO's eastern flank. A NATO counter-drone testing range at Sēlija in central Latvia hosted European startup demonstrations on 26 May.
